We are formed by our life experiences and for me, my church experiences have been very formative. God has brought me (and later, me and my family) through a rich tapestry of his body the Church.
I was "born" Roman Catholic, though my participation in that ancient institution has been minimal.
I prayed to receive Christ in a small Bible church that had a faithful few that ran a great vacation Bible School one summer.
I was confirmed in the United Methodist church. Ias a teenager I was puzzled that people came to church week after week, yet seemed no nearer to God then when they left. Yet, I learned to sing there as a way to worship God, and this has added richness to my life.
One day while trying to find God I slipped into an old-fashioned pentecostal church that had rented out an old movie theatre. Complete with tongues and prophesy and being slain in the spirit. I stayed a while and learned a few things.
Then I found that small Bible Church again which God had multiplied because of its faithfulness. I came to learn that they were Reformed and Baptist, oh and Charismatic.
Then I became part of a Cell group-based church that was very international.
Many of my friends went to a Charismatic Episcopal church, and others started to get into the writings of the early church fathers and the practices of the ancient religious orders.
Then I moved and became part of a church that was essentially a "Name it and Claim it" faith church. I'm so sure God has a sense of humor! Yet he taught me many things here that I could not have learned anywhere else.
I have learned that the circle God draws around his people is wider than we are usually willing to allow. I have learned that Christians can be the most naive and silly people, and yet God in his mercy, loves them anyway.
I have learned that I am naive and silly, yet God loves me anyway.
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